Share This

Electrode Placement Rationale

BioWavePRO® electrode placements are significantly different from other forms of electrical stimulation including TENS, interferential and muscle stimulation devices.

BioWave’s signal technology is based on the discovery that when two sinusoidal high frequency signals are summed (added) together in the device and then delivered into the body through a single electrode, the signals will pass into deep tissue and travel to a second opposing electrode. As the summed high frequency signals pass through the body, polarized structures like the membrane of the C-fiber, A-delta fiber and muscle tissue act in a nonlinear fashion and force the further multiplication of these signals, resulting in a new spectrum of signals inside the body.

Multiplication of the high frequency signals results in the formation of a therapeutic low frequency electrical field that is thought to hyperpolarize the C-fiber inhibiting action potential propagation. This field is focused in approximately a 3-inch diameter hemisphere in the volume of tissue under and surrounding each electrode. Since the nerve fibers and muscle tissue under and surrounding the electrodes are encompassed by the low frequency electrical field, at least one electrode must be placed directly over the center of the painful area.

BioWave devices deliver the two summed signals to the first electrode; they mix in the 3-inch diameter hemisphere volume of tissue beneath that electrode, then pass to the second electrode and return to the device, completing the circuit. Instantaneously, the summed signals are then delivered to the second electrode; they mix in the volume of tissue beneath the second electrode, then pass to the first electrode and return to the device. The device alternates the delivery of the summed high frequency signals so quickly between the two electrodes that the patient cannot distinguish that the signals left either location. The net effect is there are two independent active electrodes, each of which can treat a distinct 3-inch diameter hemisphere in the volume of tissue under and surrounding each electrode and there is no noxious twitching sensation.

Warning: Electrodes must not touch each other.

Focusing of Electric Field

The electric field can be focused to different parts of the body by pairing electrodes of different areas with one another.

B-Set: 2 Equal Area Round Electrodes for 2 Locations of Pain

If two electrodes of equal area are used, then two distinct locations of pain can be treated independently. If the two equal area electrodes are placed close together so that there is only 1.0 inch of space between them, the pair can be used to treat one larger volume of tissue. The B-Set is also used to treat pain from radiculopathies. One electrode is placed directly over the source of the pain, for example, directly over the spine. If, for example, the pain is radiating down the right side, the electrode over the origin of the pain should be placed approximately 0.5 inches to the right of center of the spine to allow the electrical field formed beneath the electrode to capture the nociceptive pain fibers in the direction the pain signals are traveling. The second electrode is placed proximally over where the pain first presents itself, for example, in
the buttock.

E-Set and U-Set: 1 Small Round Electrode for a Single Location of Pain and 1 Larger Rectangular Dispersive Electrode for a Comfortable Location (Bony Prominence)

By pairing an electrode of smaller area with an electrode of larger area, the density of the therapeutic low frequency electric field is greater in the volume of tissue beneath the smaller area electrode. Therefore, the smaller round electrode needs to be placed directly over the primary painful area.

In the E-set and U-set, while the larger rectangular electrode is still active, it acts as a dispersive pad and should be placed in a comfortable location to receive stimulation. The most comfortable place to receive stimulation is typically over a bony prominence, preferably near the treatment site. Placement of the larger electrode over a bony prominence allows the patient to more comfortably increase the intensity of the signal to higher levels allowing a stronger electric field to encompass the pain site under the smaller primary electrode.